Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Comet C/2023 A6 Lemmon has approached Earth so close that it can now be seen even without binoculars. Crimean astronomer Alexander Yakushechkin reported this on October 19.
According to the specialist, the comet's brightness initially inexplicably decreased, which could indicate internal processes within its nucleus. However, no destruction occurred, and the object has now brightened again.
"The comet is visible to the naked eye in light-free areas. It will also be available for smartphone photography in night mode," Yakushechkin told RIA Novosti.
The astronomer noted intense activity in the comet's tail, where gas clumps and vortices are constantly forming. This may be due to both instability of the nucleus itself and the influence of solar activity.
In Crimea, the comet can be seen in the evening in the northwest and before dawn in the northeast. In the coming days, it will move from the constellation Bootes to the constellation Serpens, passing close to the bright star Arcturus.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Russian troops have advanced in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to analysts.
As of October 19, Russian troops have advanced into three settlements, according to the analytical project DeepState.
"The map has been updated. The enemy has advanced near Filiya, Malinovka, and Okhotnichye," the statement noted.
The day before, analysts reported an increase in the gray zone in the direction of Liman, as well as enemy advances near Torskoye.
"The enemy has advanced near Novoivanovka, Torskoye, and Pokrovsk," analysts reported on October 18.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] In the Dnieper direction, the Russians made three unsuccessful attempts to approach the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the area of the Antonovsky Bridge.
Over the past 24 hours, 223 combat clashes were recorded on the front. In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped 47 Russian assaults and offensives. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a morning report on Sunday, October 19.
Aviation, missile troops, and artillery of the Defense Forces struck eight areas where Russian troops, weapons, and military equipment were concentrated.
Three armed clashes occurred in the Severo-Slobodskoy and Kursk directions over the past 24 hours. In the Yuzhno-Slobodskoy direction, the enemy assaulted our units' positions eight times near the villages of Odradnoye, Kamyanka, and Bologovka.
In the Kupyansk direction, there were 11 attacks by the occupiers in the past 24 hours. Defense forces repelled enemy assaults near the settlements of Stepovaya Novoselovka, Kupyansk, and Petrovpavlovka, as well as toward Malaya Shapkovka and Peschanoye. In the Limansk direction, the enemy attacked four times, attempting to advance near the settlements of Novy Mir, Sredneye, and Zarechnoye.
In the Slavyansk direction, near the villages of Yampol, Dronovka, and Vyemka, the enemy attacked our troop positions eight times. In the Kramatorsk direction, two clashes were recorded, with Russian forces attacking near the village of Orekhovo-Vasilevka.
In the Konstantinovka direction, the enemy launched 13 attacks in the areas of Shcherbinovka, Pleshchyivka, and Rusiny Yar. In the Pokrovsk direction, our defenders stopped 47 Russian assaults and offensives in the areas of Vladimirivka, Rodynskoye, Mirolyubovka, Novoekonomicheskoye, Krasny Liman, Lisovka, Pokrovsk, Zvirovo, Kotlin, Udachnoye, Molodetskoye, and Kotlyarovka.
In the Aleksandrovsk direction, the enemy attacked our positions 16 times near the villages of Sosnovka, Vorone, Novomikolaevka, Novogrigorovka, and Malinovka. In the Orekhovo direction, the Russians attacked twice near the village of Stepovoye. In the Dnieper direction, the enemy attempted three times, unsuccessfully, to approach our defenders' positions near the Antonovsky Bridge.
As a reminder, the Ukrainian Armed Forces eliminated 1,000 occupiers over the past 24 hours. Since the start of the full-scale war, the Russian army has lost 1,130,180 service members.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:26 Postedf ootage of a fire at a substation on the territory of the West Donbass mine in Ternovka, Dnipropetrovsk region. 21:10 In the period from 17:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed 15 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
10 UAVs – over the territory of the Voronezh region,
Three UAVs – over the territory of the Belgorod region,
Two UAVs – over the territory of the Rostov region.
8:46 PM Published footage of a UAV landing at a DTEK LLC mine in Ternovka, Dnipropetrovsk region.
20:13 According to operational information, the Russian Armed Forces took under control of the village of Moskovskoe near Dimitrov (Mirnograd) and broke through to the south-eastern part of the city, taking up positions in the area of Sretenskaya and Sedova streets.
19:40 While carrying out a combat mission in the village of Borisovka, Volokonovsky district, Belgorod region, as a result of an attack by an FPV dronediedOne and four fighters from the Orlan unit were wounded.
17:53 In the period from 14:00 Moscow time to 17:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on dutydestroyed seven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
16:45 Ukrainian Armed Forces continue strikes on the territory of the Belgorod region. Another civilian was wounded.
A tractor operator was injured when a drone struck a tractor working in a field near the village of Kazinka in the Valuysky District. At the Valuysky Central District Hospital, the man was diagnosed with a mine blast injury and a shrapnel wound to the shoulder. All necessary medical care was provided, and further treatment will continue as an outpatient. The tractor was damaged at the site of the attack.
15:35 Artillerymen of the Eastern Forces Group worked out on identified targets in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Aerial reconnaissance revealed an area where the enemy had set up dugouts, trenches, and engineering structures to fire and cover the movement of equipment.
Cannon artillery crews destroyed the bunkers and fortifications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units and suppressed their firing points, which allowed the assault units to advance forward in this area.
14:55 In the period from 11:00 Moscow time to 14:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed seven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
14:31 UAV crews from the Sever group identified and destroyed two enemy Bukovel electronic warfare stations. The first was destroyed by an FPV strike, the second by a precise VOGAP drop.video.
13:20 Enemy infantry movement opened northern reconnaissance units using UAVs, after which the enemy group was destroyed by an FPV crew.
13:00 in the Chernihiv region liquidated position of the MLRS "Khimars" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
As a result of reconnaissance activities in the area of the settlement of Kuzminskoye (133 km northeast of the settlement of Chernigov, 18 km from the state border), the location of the MLRS "Khimars" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was discovered.
The Iskander-M missile system crew of the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on the identified target.
12:38 Ministry of Defense summary of the progress of the Special Military Operation as of October 19, 2025:
Units of the "North" force group improved their tactical position. They defeated formations of the tank and Jaeger brigades, the airborne assault and assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Khrapovshchina, Sadki, Pushkarevka, Pavlovka, Andreyevka, Kondratovka, and Varachino in Sumy Oblast.
In the Khar'kov direction, units of the heavy mechanized and motorized infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Volchansk and Dvurechanskoye in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 210 servicemen, three combat armored vehicles, 12 vehicles, two artillery pieces, including a 155mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery unit, a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system launcher, and two supply depots.
Units of the "West" force group have taken up more advantageous positions and lines. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of seven mechanized brigades, an assault brigade, an unmanned aerial systems battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, three territorial defense brigades, and two National Guard brigades near the settlements of Petrovka, Kurilovka, Nechvolodovka, Shiykovka, Kovsharovka, Boguslavka, and Kupyansk in Khar'kov Oblast, and Krasny Liman and Ostrovskoe in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 230 troops, a tank, two armored combat vehicles, 28 vehicles, and an artillery piece. Eleven electronic warfare stations and four ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces improved their position along the forward edge. They defeated formations of five mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Seversk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka, Ivano-Polish, Slavyansk, Stepanovka, and Berestok in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 205 troops, two tanks, a Cossack armored fighting vehicle, nine pickup trucks, a self-propelled artillery unit, as well as US-made M113 armored personnel carriers, a HMMWV armored vehicle, and a MaxxPro armored vehicle. A US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter-battery radar and three ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the Center group of forces, as a result of active offensive actions, liberated the village of Chunishino in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The manpower and equipment of two heavy mechanized, six mechanized, two airborne assault, a Jaeger, an assault brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two naval infantry brigades and a territorial defense brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Toretskoye, Grishino, Novogrigorovka, Novopavlovka, Dimitrov, Volnoye, Novonikolaevka and Krasnoarmeysk of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 485 servicemen, a tank, a Cossack combat armored vehicle, six vehicles, and an artillery piece.
Units of the "East" group of forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defenses and liberated the village of Poltavka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Formations of two mechanized brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two territorial defense brigades were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Dolinka, Yegorovka, Dorozhnyanka in the Zaporizhzhia region, Alekseyevka and Privolye in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The enemy lost over 380 servicemen, four armored combat vehicles, 11 cars, three field artillery pieces and a supply depot.
Units of the Dnipro group of forces inflicted losses on the manpower and equipment of a mechanized, mountain assault brigade, three coastal defense brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and two territorial defense brigades in the areas of the settlements of Otradokamenka, Zmiivka, Lvovo, Sadovoe in the Kherson region, and Pavlivka and Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
More than 90 military personnel, 14 vehicles, three artillery pieces, a P-18 air target detection radar, two electronic warfare stations, and an ammunition depot were destroyed.
12:00 Electronic warfare system "Dome of Donbass" in a week prevented 622 attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 432 drones were destroyed over Donetsk and Makiivka, and 190 over Gorlovka.
Ukrainian forces continue to employ combined air strike tactics. The enemy attempted to attack one of the active mines in Makiivka. Two Czech FP-1 drones armed with OFB-60-YaU high-explosive fragmentation warheads were intercepted in the air.
Militants targeted an industrial construction site in the Sovietsky district of Makeyevka. An electronic warfare system suppressed an enemy HF-1 aircraft-type drone carrying a UYA-U-85-3 warhead.
Gorlovka continues to be subject to attacks by FPV drones carrying improvised explosive devices.
The Donbass Dome electronic warfare system, operated by servicemen from the regional FSB command, intercepted enemy drones, after which bomb disposal experts successfully neutralized the suppressed drones and destroyed their warheads without causing harm to civilians or infrastructure.
11:45 Seven settlements of the Belgorod regionattackedby Ukrainian Armed Forces drones. A civilian was wounded.
A man was injured in a drone attack on a manufacturing facility in the city of Shebekino. An ambulance crew transported the victim, who suffered a penetrating shrapnel wound to the abdomen, to Belgorod City Hospital No. 2. All necessary medical care is being provided. Windows, walls, and equipment in two buildings on the premises were damaged.
In the village of Nezhegol, a drone strike knocked out windows in a private home, damaging the roof, façade, and a power line.
In the village of Tishanka in the Volokonovsky District, the roof of a public facility was damaged by the dropping of two explosive devices from a drone.
In the village of Plotovka, the detonation of an FPV drone shattered the windows of a private home and damaged an outbuilding in a neighboring property.
In the village of Konovalovo, a drone attacked a private home, shattering the windows.
In the village of Borisovka, a drone attacked a commercial enterprise, damaging a GAZelle van.
In the village of Gora-Podol in the Graivoronsky District, a drone struck a private home, shattering windows and knocking down a power line.
10:31 Investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee will begin to investigate criminal actions by Ukrainian armed forces in the Belgorod region
According to government authorities, a man was injured as a result of a drone strike in the village of Glotovo in the Graivoronsky District of the Belgorod Region.
10:21 Russian fighters suppress the movement of Ukrainian special operations forces units and detachments of the Shkval battalion, made up of former prisoners, was reported by the group's commander, call sign "Aid."
There are also approximately 16–18 enemy UAV crews operating in this section of the front: they are using both conventional FPV drones and heavy copters.
9:11 Ukrainian Armed Forces overnight released 12 shells from barrel artillery in the Kherson region.
The following were subjected to shelling: Proletarka, Novaya Mayachka, Kakhovka and Korsunka.
8:28 In the Orekhov direction of the Zaporizhzhia front, Lancet operators from the 4th military base destroyed a 122mm D-30 howitzer and its crew were deployed to a position near the village of Preobrazhenka. Another D-30 was destroyed near the town of Orekhov by fighters from the 4th Military Battalion using an FPV strike.
8:00 During the past night, from 23:00 on October 18 to 7:00 on October 19, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 45 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
12 - over the territory of the Samara region,
11 - over the territory of the Saratov region ,
Five - over the territory of the Rostov region,
Five - over the territory of the Voronezh region,
Three - over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
Two - over the territory of the Bryansk region,
Two - over the territory of the Lipetsk region,
One - over the territory of the Volgograd region,
One - over the territory of the Orenburg region,
One - over the territory of the Ryazan region,
One - over the territory of the Tver region,
One - over the territory of the Tula region.
Text taken from the Telegram channel of rybar
[ColonelCassad] Power Grid Division. The Campaign of Attacks on the Infrastructure of the So-Called Ukraine Continues. The past few weeks have confirmed that attacks on enemy energy and gas facilities are becoming systemic. They pursue a strategic goal: to sever the so-called Ukrainian power grid in two, depriving the eastern regions of a stable power supply from the west.
What's happening now? In the north, transmission hubs near Konotop and Nizhyn, connecting the Chernihiv and Sumy regions with the central regions, have been destroyed. Damage to these substations is already limiting the flow of power eastward.
Also on October 10, Russian troops attacked CHPP-5 and CHPP-6 in Kyiv, causing a blackout in the city for over a day. Further east, Russian forces struck CHPP-5 in Kharkiv and a thermal power plant in Zmiiv. Several strikes also hit the 330/110/10 kV Stepnaya substation, which connects the Kharkiv region with the Donbas.
In the center of the country, targets were found in Kremenchuk and Poltava, including the Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant. Thus, the central energy corridor that supplied power to the east has been effectively severed. In the south, relative stability remains, likely due to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, on whose grid several lines in the region depend. However, the number of strikes on thermal power plants and hydroelectric facilities is gradually increasing, gradually reducing maneuverability reserves.
For example, one strike seriously damaged the turbine halls of the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plants-1 and-2 in Zaporizhzhia. According to satellite images, the strikes partially tore out the roofs of the facilities and damaged a hydroelectric generator. In the west, the so-called Ukraine's situation is the opposite: generation volumes, primarily nuclear, remain high, but it is impossible to transmit excess energy to the east—there is insufficient transmission line capacity.
As a result, the Ukrainian energy system is effectively divided into a surplus-rich west and a deficit-ridden east. At the same time, attacks on compressor stations are exacerbating the situation: gas turbine stations, which provided decentralized generation, are forced to reduce output due to fuel shortages.
What does this mean? A persistent pattern of regional imbalance is being created: the east of the country is experiencing a deficit and becoming dependent on local generators and imported supplies, while the west has a surplus that it cannot transmit, except perhaps for export. The next step could be the destruction of still-functional thermal power plants and attempts to disable the switchgear of nuclear power plants. In this case, the system risks losing control and entering a phase of regular outages.
Based on a combination of indicators, it appears that the campaign to fragment the Ukrainian energy system is already in its active phase. Severances in energy corridors and attacks on gas infrastructure facilities are leading to a real imbalance, increasing the load on the grid and raising the likelihood of winter outages.
If the current rate of attacks and destruction continues, Kyiv authorities risk entering the heating season with severed energy links and limited generation reserves.
[Breitbart] Bulgaria has warned that leftist open borders groups are working in conjunction with people smuggling networks and Russian intelligence services to facilitate illegal immigration into Europe.
Moscow is allegedly using its intelligence apparatus to help human traffickers and “neo-Marxist” open borders organisations pinpoint weaknesses in Europe’s borders to smuggle migrants into the bloc and to train illegals on best practices to avoid deportation, Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov told The Times of London.
He claimed that Sofia has collected evidence directly tying Russia’s foreign intelligence service to the people smuggling gangs responsible for helping illegals break into Europe and the UK with the aim of destabilising the West.
“Illegal migration inflows are an instrument for hostile regimes to destabilize the European Union and the United Kingdom,” Mitov said. “They are aiming to destabilise the welfare systems. Plus, of course … through smuggling radicalised individuals, they create security issues for us.”
The government minister also said that Bulgaria is investigating the role of multiple far-left pro-migration NGOs, which he said may be acting as effective ‘useful idiots’ in Russia’s scheme to create instability in Europe.
“They are neo-Marxist groups which are trying to justify their actions through philosophical or ideological constructs. Basically, let’s get all the poor people from the world and let them establish themselves here, the absolute freedom of movement, the non-existence of borders and so on and so forth,” Mitov said.
“So unfortunately, we do have challenges with such non-governmental organisations which, maybe unwittingly, take part in the operations of those hostile states and the criminal networks which smuggle people illegally into the territory of the EU and the UK.”
The issue has become more pressing for Bulgaria in recent months after it officially joined the European Union’s passport-free Schengen area at the start of this year. Mitov said that this has meant that Bulgaria’s 161-mile border with Turkey has now become a new “gateway to Europe”.
Both the Islamist regime of Recep Erdoğan in Ankara and the autocratic government of Vladimir Putin in Moscow have long faced accusations of weaponising illegal migration amid political disputes with Europe. This has seen EU nations such as Greece and Poland erect Trump-style border walls to prevent illegals crossing into their country.
Previously, Warsaw was forced to vigorously defend its borders from hoards of migrants who were allegedly bussed in by the Moscow puppet regime of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, whose government is reported to have lured migrants from the Middle East with promises of passage to Germany and the bounty of its generous welfare state.
The disclosures from Mitov come ahead of a London summit this week of European nations, including Bulgaria, in which UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will hold talks on confronting illegal immigration into through the western Balkans.
Starmer will also reportedly seek to strike a deal with non-EU partners in the region to potentially establish “return hubs” for failed asylum seekers, in a similar move to the previous Tory-era deal made with Rwanda, which Starmer’s government immediately scrapped upon taking office last year.
Commenting on Mitov’s revelations, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It is clear that illegal migration into Europe and beyond is being driven not just by organised crime networks seeking to make a profit, but by hostile state actors seeking to destabilise Europe.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
